Cord-wood machine.



PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905.

L. S. TAYLOR. CORD WOOD MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1'33. 29. 1904.

UNITED STATES P aTENT @FFTQE.

CORD-WOOD MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1905.

Application filed February 29, 1904. Serial No. 19 5,947.

To all whom, it may GUN/06777,.

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE S. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nacogdoches, in the county of Nacogdoches, in the State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Cord-VVood Machine, of which the following is a specification.

- My present invention pertains to improvements in machines for splitting wood, the construction and advantages of which will be hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the annexed drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is an end elevation, parts being in section, showing the machine in the act of splitting a log or piece of wood; Fig. 2, a like view showing the parts in position ready for the reception of a log; Fig. 3, a top plan view, partly broken away; Fig. 4:, a perspective view of the log holder or carrier and its attached knife; Fig. 5, a perspective :view of a portion of the rotating drum and the maul or hammer carried thereby; Fig. 6, a perspective view of a portion of the log-holder as seen from the front of the machine, and Fig. 7 a vertical sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the base or platform, upon which are mounted uprights B, said uprights at their outer ends being attached to cross beams or bars 0, which form the support of the boxes or bearings D of the relatively heavy drum E, to which is secured the maul or hammer F. The drum is provided with a band-wheel Gr, about which passes a band H, through which motion is imparted to the drum and the maul carried thereby from any suitable source. The drum being of considerable weight, the momentum thereof will overcome the resistance offered by the impact of the maul upon the log which is to be split, so that but little strain will come upon the engine. The framing which supports the drum will be secured together by timbers I and J, the latter passing across in front of the drum, as best seen upon reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Secured to the base A or to the floor or foundation upon which the apparatus is placed are two timbers or supports K and L, said supports standing in parallelism and being each provided upon the upper face with a series of vertically-disposed pins M, which are adapted and designed to enter sockets or thimbles N in the under face of the rocking knifecarrying and log-holding member 0. Said member, as will be seen upon reference to the drawings, is cut away upon its under face, as at P, and also upon its side face, asat Q. Within the opening or recess Q are secured metal plates R, to the lower ends of which is secured the knife, upon which the lower end of the log normally rests. The knife is provided with two crossed blades S and T, said blades being formed of a single piece of metal or otherwise constructed, so as to mutually support and sustain each other. The inner end of the blade T (see Figs. 1 and 2) is pro- I vided with a lug or projection U, which passes through the plate R. The ends of the blade S are similarly'shaped andpass into openings formed in the lower ends of the side plates, which are secured in the opening Q.

Arranged in line with the outwardly-extending end of the blade T is a cross-bar or supporting member V, the position of the parts being such that when a log is in place and the combined log-holder and knife-carrier O is rocked into the position shown in Fig. 1 the outwardly-projecting end of the blade T will rest upon the upper face of said cross bar. or supporting member V. The

knife .will thus be sustained at each of its four.

ends.

To hold the log in position in the recess Q upon the splitting knife or blades, a lever WV is pivotally secured to the upper face of the rocking member 0, the outer end of the lever being provided with a handle and the inner end being of such length as to project over the log and bear upon the upper end thereof. The inner end of the lever, however, should be of such length as to stand clear of the maul F when the latter reaches the position shown in Fig. 1.

Arranged below the splitting mechanism is a conveyer X, adapted and designed to transfer the split wood from beneath the machine.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: With the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 2 and the drum E being constantly driven by an engine a log is placed in the opening or recess Q so that its lower end rests upon the blades S and T. The lever WV is then drawn upwardly so that its inner end comes in contact with the upper end of the log and firmly holds the same in position upon the blades.- The combined knife-carrier and log-holder is then rocked upon the pins M until the projecting end of the blade T rests upon the crossbar V. The forward movement of the logearrier should be so timed that the maul will not come into action until the log is properly positioned and the knife rests squarely upon the cross-bar V. The continued rotation of the drum and the maul will force the log down upon the knives, and by reason oftheir being wedge-shaped, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, the log will be split into four pieces and the split portions transferred from beneath the machine by the conveyer X.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is--- 1. The combination of a relativelyheavy,

drum; means fol-imparting motion thereto; a maul or hammercarried by the drum; a splitting-knife; and means for holding a log'upon said knife with one end thereof in line with the path of travel of the maul.

2. In a machine for splitting wood, the combination of a drum; a maul carried thereby; means for rotating said-drum; a rocking logcarrier; a knife supported by said carrier; and means for holding a log in proper position upon the knife and in line with the maul carried by the drum.

3. The combination of a drum; means for rotating the same; a maul extending outward from said drum; a rocking member located to one side of the drum; a knife carried by said member in line with a recess formed in the side face of the member; and means for properly positioning a log within said recess and holding one end thereof upon the knife.

4. In a machine for splitting wo0d,:the combination of a relatively heavy drum; means for rotating the same; a maul extending outwardly from the periphery of the drum; a

member rockingly supported adjacent to the drum, said member being provided with a recess in its side face; a splitting-knife secured to the member at the lower end of said recess; and a lever pivotally supported upon the upper face of the member and having one end projecting inwardly over the recess to a slight extent, whereby a log may be held within the recess upon the knife and the rocking member moved upon its support to bring the upper endof the log in line with the path of travel of the maul, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for splitting wood, the combination of a drum; a maul carried thereby; means for rotating the drum; a member rockingly supported adjacent to the drum, said member being provided with a recess in the face'next adjacent to the drum; plates secured to the faces of said recess; a blade extending across the recess-and having its ends secured in oppositely-disposed plates; a second blade extending at right angles to the first blade and having its innerend secured to the plate which is mounted in the base of the recess; a cross-bar standing in linewith the outwardlyprojecting end of said second blade; and means for holding a log upon said blades in the path of travel of the maul.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

L. S. TAYLOR. Witnesses:

F. R. BOOK, B. J. IVEY. 

